White House says it has granted 14 ethics waivers to staff

With new details regarding Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Attorney General Jeff Sessions' alleged contacts with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak coming to light, the White House has been inundated with questions regarding the controversy - which is understandable, given Trump team has been trying to brush it under the rug since Day 1.

David Sanger, National security correspondent, The New York Times; author, "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power".

Fresh off Trump's first official trip overseas, his administration is looking for ways to respond more aggressively to allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and revelations of possible ties between Trump's campaign and Moscow.

Last month, CNN reported that the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election was increasingly touching on the multiple roles of Kushner on both the Trump campaign and the Trump transition team.

During the briefing, Spicer announced that he would no longer be taking any further questions about the FBI's investigation into alleged collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign.

It's an extraordinary step for the White House to suddenly farm out inquiries about a subject about which the president is publicly commenting on-and in this case, just hoursbeforehand.

"I don't know how any comms person could not be frustrated in that position right now given the daily drama", a source close to him said.

Kushner failed to disclose meetings during the transition period with Russian officials and the head of a state-linked bank under US sanctions on forms used to obtain the clearance.

Kushner acknowledges he enjoys his position near the top of the US government, despite having no previous experience in public service, mainly because he understands his father-in-law and has earned his trust, senior administration officials said. Some foreign leaders, though, prefer to deal with Kushner directly, viewing him as more relatable, reasonable and worldly than Trump, according to one foreign official.

Kushner also acts as a liaison to the business community, where he has relationships dating to his time running his family's New Jersey real estate business, particularly in the banking world.

The lawmakers outlined their concerns in a letter to White House general counsel Don McGahn on Wednesday. If administration officials are to be believed, the list of people who can be inducted includes Trump's former campaign manager.

President Donald Trump says celebrity Kathy Griffin "should be ashamed of herself" for appearing in a video holding what looked like Trump's bloody, severed head. Kushner knows his place, to some extent.

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